State College Football Capsules

Yale begins is 141st season of football, its second under coach Tony Reno, on Saturday at Colgate. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

The Bulldogs (2-8, 1-6) finished last in the Ivy League last season for the first time since 1997.

For the first time in seven years, Yale opens with someone other than Georgetown (the Bulldogs won all six). Yale leads the series with Colgate, of the Patriot League, 25-11-3, and this is the 40th meeting. Colgate won last season's meeting in New Haven behind four rushing touchdowns by quarterback Gavin McCarney, who returns for his senior season.

The Raiders are 0-3 with losses to Air Force, Albany and New Hampshire.

Yale used five quarterbacks last season as injuries piled up. Either senior Henry Furman, who played most of last season at receiver, or sophomore Morgan Roberts will start at quarterback Saturday. Roberts is a transfer from Clemson.

Yale junior running back Tyler Varga led the nation in all-purpose yards per game last season (194), including 935 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in eight games.

Trinity (0-0) at Bates (0-0), 1 p.m.: Trinity is looking to become the first repeat champion in the NESCAC since winning four in a row in 2002-05. The NESCAC champion has finished 8-0 for each of the past five seasons. The Bantams are 28-4 over the past four seasons, 49-7 in seven years under coach Jeff Devanney and will carry a 47-game (12-year) home winning streak into next week's game against Williams. Senior running back Evan Bunker (3,066 career yards) is already Trinity's all-time rushing leader and is on pace to set the NESCAC career record held by Fletcher Ladd of Amherst (3,817 yards in 2001-04). The Bantams return several key players in skill positions and should have one of the more active, entertaining offenses in the conference.

Wesleyan (0-0) vs. Tufts (0-0), 6 p.m.: The first night game in NESCAC history. Wesleyan, trying to promote football in the Middletown area and celebrate the few Middlesex County players on its roster, is hoping for one of its biggest crowds in recent years. An Iowa-based company that specializes in sports lighting has been hired (with costs being significantly defrayed by a large donation from a Wesleyan alum) to light up Corwin Stadium for the first time. Admission is free. The Cardinals are coming of their first winning season since 2002. They finished 5-3, nearly knocking off conference champion Trinity in the 2012 season finale (a 30-24 overtime loss). Junior running backs LaDarius Drew and Kyle Gibson both averaged just under 100 yards last season.

Sacred Heart (3-0) vs. Chowan (1-1), 1 p.m.: Sacred Heart's homecoming game. The Pioneers are looking to improve to 4-0 since beginning 6-0 in 2008. Chowan is a Division II school from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the same conference as Sacred Heart's opponent last week, Lincoln. The Pioneers beat Lincoln, 45-3. This is the first meeting between these teams. Sacred Heart junior running back Sean Bell rushed for 205 yards on 18 carries last week, becoming the ninth player in program history to surpass 200 in a game.

Coast Guard (0-2) vs. Hampden-Sydney (1-1), 1 p.m.: In its home opener, Coast Guard will honor its 1963 team (33 members of that team will attend and serve as honorary captains). Those former players will take part in the pregame coin toss, and the Bears will wear throwback uniforms, identical to those from 1963. Coast Guard is looking to avoid falling to 0-3 for the first time since 1983. The Bears, who committed five turnovers in the opener against St. Lawrence but none last week against Merchant Marine, have trailed 14-0 in both of their games and led both 17-14 before losing. Junior Colis Brown had four catches for 122 yards against Merchant Marine.

Central Connecticut (0-3) at Albany (1-2), 7 p.m.: Central is looking to avoid starting 0-4 for the second consecutive season, having started 0-5 last year. The game will take place at new Bob Ford Field, which was sold out with a crowd of 8,500 last week in the Great Danes' 19-13 overtime loss to Rhode Island. In the last meeting, which closed the 2012 season, Albany won 63-24 to clinch the Northeast Conference championship. The Great Danes have moved to the CAA. Central sophomore quarterback Nick SanGiacomo is averaging just 131.7 passing yards a game but has five touchdowns to one interception. Junior running back Rob Hollomon has 371 rushing yards on 85 carries and is averaging 123.7 yards a game. He has five touchdowns, matching his total from last season.

Western Connecticut (1-0) at Plymouth State (1-1), 1 p.m.: Western, which last season snapped a 28-game losing streak, put up 474 yards of offense and defeated Nichols on the road in its opener last week, 44-7. Junior quarterback Will Arndt was 13 of 15 for 155 yards and one touchdown, and junior running back Octavias McKoy had 84 yards on just 11 carries. Plymouth State defeated Castleton 35-31 at home in its opener and lost last week at Mount Ida, 37-26.